Being a Friend
by robot-keayleuu
Summary: Han demonstrates what it means to be a friend when he and Luke are captured by Bounty hunters


A shuttle picked them up. The inhabitants were disguised as travellers, innocent and naive as they stopped beside the Millennium Falcon, pleading for fuel at six times the port price. And Han couldn't help himself—he was a sucker for money, and that was their downfall.

He didn't know it at the time but the travellers were bounty hunters. They'd been shot in the side-both the Falcon and him-and taken aboard their ship. During the boarding Luke had been hit over the head. He lay slumped over Han's shoulder silent and twitching; the last shards of consciousness fragmented in his mind.

The bounty hunters didn't attempt to communicate- hell, they weren't even the same species as Han. As they steered him into the cargo hold with a blaster to the back of his head, he spotted an Imperial wanted poster in one of their hands. His name was mentioned but the only photograph belonged to Luke—Han guessed he was their afterthought.

They were thrown into a vast, metal room. The floor was cold and as Han's elbows pressed against it he shivered, involuntary. Cursing, he pulled himself up and ran toward the door to have his arms caught by two droids- only when the lock clicked did they release their grip. Trying his best to appear indifferent, Han scouted the room for an alternate means of escape.

The room was tremendous yet completely ineffective—various canisters lined the walls and several storage tanks were dotted here and there, their sides stained with oil. Other than that there wasn't a vent, window or shaft in sight. It was then Han noticed Luke-curled and bruised on the floor-and rushed over to his side.

He lay still-breathing slowly-and Han shook him until he woke. Several times he pressed his chest and slapped his face, sending beads of blood flying through the air. The two droids by the door mounted their guns but remained stationary, their singular lenses watching Han's every movement.

When Luke woke he felt dizzy, and as he sat blood dripped down the side of his head, making pitter-patters on the concrete floor.

'Han…' he struggled. 'Chewie, Leia… they got to the escape pod, right?'

Looking at him now, Han admired his strength: even after being knocked unconscious, his first thought was of his friends.

'Yeah,' Han assured him. 'They went, in the end. I'll tell you one thing though- the Princess wasn't too happy about it. Thanks to your stalling we managed to buy some extra time, but even with Chewie's help, she didn't make it easy.' He smiles, faintly. 'Women. How's your head?'

Gingerly, Luke raised a hand and touched the side of his head, as if just noticing he were wounded. Blood stuck his hair together as he pulled at the wet strands.

'It's fine… It's not important. They're taking us to the Empire, aren't they? I can feel it.'

Luke closed his eyes. Unsure of what to say, Han fidgeted but Luke continued, lowering his voice as he looked between Han and the droids.

'Listen… I need to talk to you. We need to talk about what we agreed-'

Han drew a sharp breath but Luke interrupted.

'We've been over this-we both said it's best for everyone. I have… powers.' He scrunched up his forehead. 'If they control me, I'm scared of the things I might do... And I can't do it myself; it's against my customs. That's why you have to do it-now.'

Han shook his head. 'You're not serious… Luke? No, it's not definite… We might escape- I don't want to take the risk-'

'Escape?' Luke laughed. 'We're seconds away from docking. When we do,the Emperor will arrive and it'll already be too late…. You need to think of Leia and the Rebel base…' his voice dropped, darkening. 'You won't tell them anything but they'll have ways to get it from me. They can read my mind-they'll know all our plans, all our bases- everything.'

Han was silent, unsure when Luke took his hand and smiled.

'I'm your friend—don't forget that. If I stay alive then you'll die because of me. I wouldn't ever betray you but I can't stop them from reading my mind. I'm doing this for you… as a friend. And you're doing this for me… as a friend. It'll be really easy-I won't feel a thing. And I trust you- I trust you to do it right.'

When Luke pulled away, there was a slender, silver item placed in Han's palm. Han stared at it for a moment before crouching down, looking Luke in the eyes.

'Luke…. Are you sure?'

The ship screeched to a sudden halt. There was silence, then came the sound of pounding feet. From outside the ship, they heard two voices:

'Skywalker is inside—I can sense his animosity. A pity the chase is through already, wouldn't you say, Lord Vader?'

'Yes, my Master. But he will be a challenging student.'

The walls shake suddenly and Luke looks Han in the eye, then nods.

The cargo door slides open as Han draws a knife across Luke's throat.


End file.
